


13:00

by xyc



Series: Fourteen Things [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Birthday, Fluff, Human AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 22:16:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9682181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xyc/pseuds/xyc
Summary: Fourteen things to remember in a relationship.





	

**2\. Remember their birthday, every year.**

 March 17th, 2016. The anniversary of the Risorgimento and founding of Italy, and by no coincidence, Romano Vargas’ birthday. However, said Italian preferred to treat it as any other day. And he liked it that way.

Very, very much.

In fact, he liked it so much, that he went out of his way every year to buy a ticket to his small, isolated country house in the rural Italian scenery away from others so he could spend the week to himself. Alone. In isolation. With no one around. However, this plan always failed with the arrival of friends and family crowded into his home with gifts and smiles, wishing him and his twin a happy birthday.

Of course he appreciated the gesture. It was nice to know that effort and love was put into planning these “surprise” parties. New cooking utensils and gift cards were always a plus, too. But Romano knew that truthfully, these get-togethers were just celebrating Feliciano. Romano was just there because he was the one with the house and the food.

It made sense, of course, Feli was always the favourite. The smarter twin. The talented twin. The handsomer, kinder, nicer, sweeter, happier, all around better twin who had the world wrapped around his damn finger. Feliciano was the light whereas Romano was darkness. They were good and bad, night and day, sun and moon. And Romano had no other option than to grow accustomed to the constant comparison. But that still didn’t mean it stung when he heard “Why can’t you be more like your brother?”

Which is why when he said he wanted to have time to himself, he only meant himself. Singular. No Feliciano. No bullshit. Get the point? So when he bought his plane ticket, packed his bags, and flown over, he expected this March 17th to be the same as those that had come before. Door unlocked, suspicious shuffling noises coming from within, a colorful streamer or two laying on his porch, and leaving him in the same shitty mood as it did each year.

What he had not expected was to find his house empty and devoid of any sort of celebratory spirit. It was the same as how he had left it last time, only with light layers of dust blanketing the furniture. He gently put his bags down beside him and turned to lock the door behind. Maybe everyone was hiding, and they’d just stepped up their game from last year. If that was the case Romano had to give them some credit; it was a one story house with barely enough room for two to live in. It was a miracle it even had enough space to fit those parties in the first place.

But after checking each room carefully, there was no one. It was he, himself, and his wilted tomato garden. He wasn’t entirely sure what to do. So, he looked to social media to find an answer. Indeed, just by taking a quick glance at Instagram he knew why. The first picture on his feed was one with Feliciano clinging to France’s arms, both smiling happily. A sick feeling grew in the pit of his stomach, which only grew as he continued to scroll down the screen. His timeline was filled with pictures and videos of his brother and the rest of the nations, captions and comments all wishing Feliciano a happy birthday, “and many more”. Apparently Romano finally got what he wanted this year. “Happy fucking birthday.” He muttered bitterly.

Did it hurt?

Yes. It did.

Very much so.

Romano would never admit it aloud, though. Instead he wiped away the tears stinging his eyes, pocketed his phone, and collected any dignity he still had left. Numbly he walked towards his bedroom, luggage still at the door and shoes still on. Don’t be such a fucking crybaby, you little shit, he thought to himself angrily. It’s your fault for being such an asshole in the first place. It was always his fault, you know. Everything was-even when it wasn’t.

Slowly Romano opened the door.

Slowly did he not come close to shitting himself when his face met that of a certain pale Prussian, with only centimeters of space separating the two.

“Jesus!” Romano yelled and jumped backwards, falling back on the floor. For a brief moment his face was frozen in utter confusion and shock, which then turned quickly back into anger. “Gilbert? What the hell are you doing in my house? In my bedroom?” Romano narrowed his eyes and pushed himself up off the floor. Seriously-why the hell was he here? Shouldn’t he be celebrating Feliciano’s birthday with the rest of the fucking world?

Gilbert and Romano were by no means best friends. But they did have a lot in common with each other. Say, for example, being in the ever looming shadow of a sibling. Considered the black sheeps and outcasts of their family. Generally overlooked by others. A depressing way to think of their friendship maybe, but Romano found that it helped create their bond in the first place.

“Surprise!” Gilbert shouted, shaking his hands above his head wildly. “Happy birthday!” He enveloped Romano’s body in his arms and gave him a tight hug, lifting the smaller man in the air and swinging him in circles. Romano was too taken aback by the suddenness to do anything. “Put me down, idiot! Put me down!” He could only demand.

> “No!”
> 
> “Yes!”
> 
> “Nope!”
> 
> “Yes!”
> 
> “Nein!”
> 
> “God fucking dammit.”

Soon Gilbert returned Romano to the ground but not before giving him a tight squeeze one last time. Romano pulled away, a slight pink dusting over his cheeks. “Fuck you,” he said with little actual malice. “Well, there is a bed behind us…” Gilbert waggled his eyebrows, earning the change of slight pink to a deep red, as well as a swift kick to the shins.

> “Augh! Scheiße, Romano! Hey, no---w-wait, hey, put that down! Lamps are friends!”

* * *

March 17th, 2016. The anniversary of the Risorgimento and founding of Italy, and by no coincidence, now Romano Vargas’ favourite day of all time.

**Author's Note:**

> I love Romano! I also love PruMano, very much. I do hope you enjoy this!
> 
> Also, thank you for all of the nice comments! I'm so happy others like my work. I have decided to make Fourteen Things into a series as well, just to broaden the spectrum of characters.


End file.
